Financial Technology Survey From Vision Critical Reveals Competitive Advantage

LONDON, December 15 - Technology is the critical focus area for financiers for 2010, according
to a new independent research study commissioned by Vision Critical, leading
software provider to the commercial finance industry.

The UK Financial Technology Survey conducted in November 2009, reveals
that 83% of firms see technology solutions as a major source of competitive
advantage for next year. Furthermore, half of those surveyed said that
technology produces better returns than other investments.

Respondents span a wide range of financial sectors, ranging from asset
based lending, supply chain management, risk and compliance to e-invoicing
and payments.

CEO of Vision Critical, Oliver Chadwick comments: "It is encouraging to
note that so many successful organisations attribute technology as a major
source of competitive advantage. There is no doubt that technology solutions
are enabling firms to add value to their clients as well as dramatically
improve business integration and process delivery."

When asked, "In which areas do you believe technology investments have
the greatest positive impact on your organisation", 91% stated that better
integration of existing applications was paramount, followed by better
alignment with strategic goals (55%).

According to the survey, the main reasons that financiers are now
investing in technology solutions are: streamlining business processes,
analysing business information and enhancing the service provision to
clients. 90% of respondents ranked these reasons as important to very
important in terms of weighting. These were followed closely by minimising
human error (80%), minimising risk exposure and knowledge capture /
management (77%). Reducing headcount was also cited by 70% of respondents.

Lenders measure their return on IT investments mainly by cost savings
(81%) and staff productivity (75%), followed by speed of process (72%) and
revenue generated (65%).

The technologies that firms are investing in are concerned primarily with
visibility and transparency, evidenced by unprompted responses such as
"business integration", "data integration and data quality" and "better
access to clients' data". Unsurprisingly, "risk management" and "fraud" also
top the IT agenda of financiers today, with "automation of processing".

The most innovative uses of technology in financial services mentioned
comprise areas such as: "Electronic extraction and transfer of data from
clients' systems to funders" and "The creation of a true single view of the
client, including their exposures and their products", both of which have
been driven by Vision Critical's OSMO(R) product, powering over 8 million
transactions in the UK alone.

Michael Symes, Strand Financial Limited, Adam House, 7-10 Adam Street, Strand, London WC2N 6AA, t +44(0)20-7520-9216, m +44(0)7736-008270